Up 11 after a half, the Raptors took their foot off the gas in a big way and, 12 playing minutes later, the game was over.

A 41-10 third quarter — highlighted by a 28-0 run — had the Knicks up 20 and seemingly on their way to an easy win. The 31-point differential wasn’t just bad, it was tied for the worst in franchise history happening first back on Jan. 11, 1997 in a 48-17 first-quarter drubbing by the then New Jersey Nets.

Still there was a chance.

A fourth-quarter lineup with Serge Ibaka playing alongside C.J. Miles, Norm Powell, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet brought sanity back into the game.

That 20-point deficit was down to six with 5:40 gone in the final frame.

But as is too often the case, coming back from a huge deficit takes its toll and while the Raptors got this one back within reach, they never managed to fully overcome the huge hole, finishing with a 108-100 loss.

“That sh– was a blur,” point guard Kyle Lowry said of the third quarter. “It was a blur to me. We had seven turnovers, missed some good looks. They started out aggressive, made shots. That pretty much won the game for them. You have to tip your hat sometimes.

“For a team to get going like that, they did an unbelievable job. For us, we had seven turnovers. I missed a couple of shots, DeMar (DeRozan) missed shots, Serge (Ibaka) missed some shots, JV (Jonas Valanciunas) missed a layup. It happens man.”

Lowry played down the loss. Dwane Casey did not afford himself the same luxury.

“We did that to ourselves,” the head coach said. “I give the Knicks all the credit, they are playing well, especially here at home, but we talked about that. We have to match their energy and we did not do it except with that stretch with the second unit. The first unit did not match their energy defensively or offensively. We didn’t play with any force, any pace, any toughness to warrant anything.”

On three different occasions in that fourth quarter, the Raptors got the lead down to six points, but each time the Knicks pulled away.

Tim Hardaway Jr., the man the Knicks signed to an eye-popping four-year $71-million contract, had a night worthy of that kind of money with 38 points, six assists and seven rebounds in the win. It was his three with 2:57 to go that pretty much sealed the deal.

When he wasn’t hitting threes, Hardaway was punishing the Raptors at the rim. And when he wasn’t doing that, he was beating them at the free-throw line.

With 10 seconds remaining in the game and the Knicks dribbling it out, Hardaway stood at centre court imploring the MSG crowd to enjoy the moment which they willingly did.

This one is still going to sting for the Raptors who were seemingly in control at the half on the strength of solid offensive games from Lowry and DeRozan.

Between the two, they had 29 points and seven assists at the half, but after that just 14 points, all of them by Lowry.

“We came out in a funk,” DeRozan said. “We couldn’t make a basket and couldn’t get a stop and they took advantage of it. It happens. It’s the NBA.”

The Raptors were just 1-for-16 in that third quarter, the lone field goal a Miles three-pointer. For a team that was humming along offensively, this one was truly humbling.

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